Shared Future CIC, who have been supporting the PB Network website since 2012, have a new offer for you.
If you want to find out what is happening on PB in the UK we are here to help, via our dedicated PB pages on our website.
During 2024 we will be creating a new support and information offer and refreshed resources on PB, primarily aimed at those working in England and Wales.
We can also signpost you to key PB networks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The existing PB Network website and its mailing list will therefore be retired. We have already switched over those who are on our mailing list to receive Shared Future’s e-bulletins.
We will be sharing PB news and creating an archive of important examples of PB in the UK over the last decade on our main site. We will also be listing PB themed events and workshops we are running on Shared Future’s events page.
To find out more about these changes please contact Jez or Samuel at Shared Future.
What was the UK PB Network?
The PB Network advocated for learning and innovation in Participatory Budgeting.
Participatory Budgeting(PB) is about local people making decisions directly over how local public budgets are spent. Through this website we shared information and blogs about PB. The PB Network had no funding of its own and was maintained by the goodwill of those committed to its aims.
The goal
The aim of this website was for PB to be recognised as a key and effective tool for:
- addressing inequalities in service provision and resource allocation
- engaging and empowering citizens in discussions on public budgets
- stimulating co-production and mutual responsibility between citizens and the state
About this website
The PB Network was established in 2012 by a voluntary advisory group. The advisory group sought to bring together PB champions spread across the country, and to promote the concept of Participatory Budgeting within England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Since 2018 the advisory group has been inactive, though individuals continue to connect.
There are active PB Networks in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
In 2024 the decision was taken by Shared Future to archive the UK PB Network website and create a new PB offering on its main website’s PB page.
More history
The PB Network website built on the success of the previous work promoting PB across the UK by the PB Unit, Oxfam, Church Action on Poverty and also the thousands of PB practitioners and activists worldwide.
The PB Unit was a project of the national charity Church Action on Poverty, which ran from 2000 to 2012. The project aimed to support the public sector and community groups in developing new Participatory Budgeting processes in the UK. When the PB Unit closed in April 2012 its work was picked up by a newly formed voluntary PB Network. The PB Network held its inaugural meeting in Bradford in September 2012. The initial Terms of reference for a network to promote PB in the UK were produced by its original volunteer steering group in December 2012, and later agreed at a second meeting held in January 2013 in London.
Shared Future CIC agreed at that time to host the PB Network website, and continues to do so. The PB Network does not hold any legal independent status, generate income or hold financial resources. This website records the legacy of past work on PB, and shares free resources.
Who manages this website?
The PB Network website has been run and updated on a voluntary basis by Shared Future CIC, a social enterprise with a track record in quality community engagement and development.